<
        >

          The Match 2022: Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas defeat Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy

          Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas defeated Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in The Match. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images for The Match
          • Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterDec 10, 2022, 10:07 PM ET
            Close
            • Senior college football writer
            • Author of seven books on college football
            • Graduate of the University of Georgia
            Follow on X

          It might not have been as compelling as some had hoped, but at least golf fans got to watch Tiger Woods on a golf course -- under the lights on a Saturday night, no less.

          Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas took down Woods and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy 3 and 2 in 10 holes of the seventh edition of The Match at Pelican Golf Club outside Tampa, Florida.

          Woods, who was competing for the first time since missing the cut at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in July, had a few good moments but the competition belonged to Spieth and JT. The winning duo combined to make seven birdies to take down their opponents. Woods and McIlroy combined for just one.

          Still, it was a good night and a fun event that raised millions of dollars for relief efforts in Florida after the devastation of Hurricane Ian.

          "The fact that we were able to do something under the lights that never before happened in our sport, to be able to grow it in a different way," Woods told TNT when he was asked what he would remember most. "Also, the people who got devastated by Hurricane Ian. We were able to create a lot more funds, a lot more opportunities for people to regrow back here, and that's important. We're Floridians. I know from the eastern side what kind of devastation it can do. These people are left with no homes and no lives, and I'm glad we were all able to come together and do something about it."

          Woods, 46, has competed in two previous editions of The Match, but it was the debuts for McIlroy, Spieth and Thomas. Here's how The Match played out:

          That's a wrap

          And that's that. JT and Spieth took down Rory and Tiger. "Second place isn't bad, guys," Thomas told McIlroy and Woods after Spieth's winning putt.

          Introducing Alabama University

          It always goes back to the Iron Bowl. Charles Barkley, a former Auburn basketball star, gave JT grief about "Alabama University."

          Turning up the trash talk

          A look into the future?

          JT and Spieth lead the way

          These guys are good. Using just a 5-wood on a one-club challenge on the 455-yard, par-4 fourth hole, JT somehow makes par. JT and Spieth are 3-up after four holes. Tiger and Rory have plenty of work to do.

          Here comes Charlie

          Woods said his 13-year-old son, Charlie, still hasn't beaten him but recently outdrove him.

          "I hate to say it, but I'm going to admit it. He finally did it a couple of weeks ago," Woods said. And Tiger said the day Charlie beats him "is coming." They'll play together in next week's PNC Championship in Orlando.

          Early check-in with Tiger

          Charles Barkley with a serious journalistic question to Woods: "How's your foot?" Tiger's response: "It's still attached. It's good."

          Staying hydrated

          It's real golf now -- and John Daly isn't even there.

          Under the lights

          We're minutes away from the start of the seventh edition of The Match, and as Woods pointed out, it's the first time it will be played entirely under the lights.

          Lefty sends regards

          Raise your hand if you were expecting an olive branch from Mickelson today.

          Setting the scene

          Previewing The Match

          Woods, a 15-time major champion, plans to compete even as he is struggling to recover from plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He was forced to pull out of last week's Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, which benefits his foundation, and told reporters there that doctors advised him that the painful condition is related to injuries he suffered in a car wreck outside Los Angeles in February 2021.

          Woods said being able to use a golf cart will help him tremendously, and that "it's just hard getting from point A to point B." He competed in only nine rounds in three majors last year. His last start was a missed cut at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in July.

          Golf fans will certainly be happy to see Woods swinging a club again. He also plans to play with his son, Charlie, in next week's PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida. Woods will again be able to use a cart in that 36-hole event.

          With former NBA great Charles Barkley once again providing commentary during The Match, there figures to be plenty of humor. And it's hard to imagine that there won't be a few jabs at LIV Golf and its CEO and commissioner, two-time Open winner Greg Norman, during what might be an infomercial for the PGA Tour. Last week, McIlroy told the Independent of London that he plans "to make it my business now to be as much of a pain in [Norman's] arse as possible."

          While the golfers are friendly competitors, McIlroy says none of them like to lose.

          "I've been on the wrong side of them in the Ryder Cup before I'm trying to get one back on them," said McIlroy. "I couldn't ask for a better partner. The partner I had against them previously doesn't quite compare to the one I'll have on Saturday night."

          The 12-hole match will start at 6 p.m. ET and be played under the lights. It's a best-ball format, in which each player plays his own ball on holes and the lowest score of the two players counts as the team score.

          "I can tell you one thing: I've got the No. 1 player in the world on my team, so I'm good," Woods said. "He'll have the best cheerleader he's ever had."

          McIlroy is expecting more from his teammate.

          Thomas and Spieth are slight favorites (-130) over McIlroy and Woods (+110), according to oddsmakers at Caesars Sportsbook.

          "[Tiger is] probably the best iron player who has ever lived," McIlroy said. "Probably the best golfer who has ever lived, period. I think if he can get it out there in the fairway and get some looks from the fairway, I think we're going to have a very good chance."

          There figures to be plenty of friendly trash-talking starting with the first tee shots.

          "It's kind of hard to trash-talk them," Thomas said. "I feel like on the first tee Jordan and I just need to get it out in the open that, OK, you guys have more majors than us, you have more FedEx Cups than us, you both have an airplane and we don't, let's just get that out in the open that way we don't get it used against us in our match."

          "They're both quick and witty," Spieth said. "I was saying to Justin that we might have to take the nice guy route, which isn't normal for us in these types of matches."

          "Either way, it won't work," Woods added.